Sunday 19 February 2017

Review: The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock (1963)

FIGURE 1 - The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock
The Birds is a horror/thriller made by director Alfred Hitchcock in 1963. The film follows a woman called Melanie who is initially confident. We see her make her journey to Bodega Bay to deliver some love birds to the male interest Mitch Brenner and how events turn out in Bodega Bay, we watch her confidence disappear and see her turn into a damsel in distress. ''The Birds is a resounding warning about what happens when a flirty female tries to make a  joke. Melanie Daniels, played by Tippi Hendren, is a prank-player and liar (of course) who tried to gift some lovebirds to the younger sister of Mitch, the chap she fancies. The entires bird world, chagrined to be the pawn in a devious woman's game, gets its revenge'' (Bidisha, 2010). 

The films ending is very interesting. We initially see Melanie as a confident, well presented woman attractive to all males, but then we see her progress into a weak, stereotypical woman character towards the end. She turns into a damsel in distress and suddenly she relies on Mitch to help her get away from the birds. She almost turns into a human doll, is she being punished? However, there is a scene towards the end where she seems to regain her self-independence when she decides to head up into the attic by herself. ''Hitchcock's women are outwardly immaculate, but full of treachery and weakness'' (Bidisha, 2010). Initially we get presented with Melanie's past, for example, her naked swim in Rome, which clearly suggests she lead a sexual life. ''She has led a rather reckless life, consorting with people who want nothing more of life than to party''. (Cileone, 2015).

FIGURE 2 - Mitch's home
The use of camera throughout The Birds is also very interesting. Towards the end of the film, the camera begins to tilt upwards, making the audience worry about the above, the sky and the birds. 

The film also seems to have a reoccurring 'cage motif' throughout. For example, at the very beginning of the film we see Melanie in a bird shop, which is displaying a huge variety of birds in cages. Specifically, we are drawn to the species of love birds as we see Mitch enter, looking for some for his younger sister. It could be argued that this is an early foreshadowing of the characters being imprisoned by love. It could also be argued that the use of these love birds is purely ironic, due to the nature of the birds throughout the rest of the film, ''since the birds that feature in this story will be dispensing anything but affection?'' (Cileone, 2015). Further on in the film, when Melanie rents out a boat to get to Mitch's home, the many that helps her do this works in a workspace that resembles a cage. This could be connoting that his job is like jail? How humans are constantly trapped behind their jobs, unable to get away?.

When Melanie begins to track down Mitch after their initial meeting, she almost turns into a 'bird of prey' herself. Constantly hunting him down and will do anything to get to him. She invades his personal home and town for her own personal pleasure. ''Melanie wants to cage him as she invades his ''nest'', or hometown and family, which includes Mitch's mother (Jessica Tandy)'' (Cileone, 2015).

FIGURE 3 - Melanie running away from the birds
Instead of using a big orchestral score, to add to the threat and pace of the film, Hitchcock decided to go with a subtler approach with the use of diagetic sound, created by Herrmann. The use of this type of sound creates a really dynamic and odd feeling, which relates perfectly to the unusual images we are presented with throughout the film. ''In a logic sense, the choice is surprising. The aesthetic of a large number of birds could easily translate musically into some form of metric and rhythmic composition'' (Scovell, 2014).


BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Bidisha, (2017). What's wrong with Hitchcock's women. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/alfred-hitchcock-women-psycho-the-birds-bidisha [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].
Cileone, G. (2017). What is the meaning of the cage motif in "The Birds" | ScreenPrism. [online] Screenprism.com. Available at: http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-does-the-cage-motif-in-the-birds-enhance-the-films-themes [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].
Scovell, A. (2017). Sounds of The Birds (1963) – Alfred Hitchcock.. [online] Celluloid Wicker Man. Available at: https://celluloidwickerman.com/2014/09/04/sounds-of-the-birds-1963-alfred-hitchcock/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].

ILLUSTRATION LIST:
Ashe, B. (2017). The Girl, The Birds, and a plethora of meaning.. [online] True Classics. Available at: https://trueclassics.net/2012/10/23/the-girl-the-birds-and-a-plethora-of-meaning/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].
Gore, D. (2017). Unanswered Questions: Murderous Birds from Alfred Hitchcock… The Horror of it All. [online] Donna R. Gore. Available at: https://donnagore.com/2015/03/09/unanswered-questions-murderous-birds-from-alfred-hitchcock-the-horror-of-it-all/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].
Kumar, A. (2017). Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" -- A Brief Analysis. [online] Movieretrospect.blogspot.co.uk. Available at: http://movieretrospect.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/alfred-hitchcocks-birds-brief-analysis.html [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].

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